the Other Harry Potter
by yuuray
Summary: Having read all the books, Eric hates Harry Potter. 'It's just not how real people act,' he says. Later that night, he gets a visit, and is offered to live Harry Potter's life from the beginning, so he can do it HIS was.
1. Chapter 1: Enjoy the ride

**Chapter 1 – Enjoy The Ride**

_The last trace of steam evaporated in the autumn air. The train rounded a corner. Harry's hand was still raised in farewell._

'_He'll be all right, ' murmured Ginny._

_As Harry looked at her, he lowered his hand absent-mindedly and touched the lightning scar on his forehead._

'_I know he will.'_

_The scar had not pained Harry for nineteen years. All was well._

_

* * *

_

A young man closed the book he had been reading. 'Finally, ' He thought to himself. 'I'm finally done with these awful books. He looked up at his laptop on the other side of his room. 'Might as well tell Jessica.'

Eric says: Jessica? you there?

Jessica says: Eric! Omg, did you finish 'Deathly Hallows?'

Eric says: Yea..

Jessica says: And?=D

Eric says: Well, it sucked just as hard as the rest, lol.

Jessica says: WHAT?

Jessica says: Dude, you're joking, right?

Eric says: No, I'm not. It was boring and stupid. I don't understand why you forced me to read

all that crap.

Jessica says: Ok, srsly. Explain why, because I really don't understand why you hate it so much. =S

Eric says: It's just so unrealistic.

Jessica says: well, duh. It's about wizards.

Eric says: very funny. I'm talking about the characters. Real people aren't like that. Real people don't talk or act like that. I just can't suspend my disbelief.

Jessica says: That's because you took no effort to get into the story, Eric. You never tried to emphasize with Harry or the others, and tried to imagine how you would feel in those situations.

Eric says: Well, that's Rowling's fault, not mine, lol.

Jessica says: lol. It IS your fault, everyone else loves it.

Eric says: Whatever

Jessica says: I wish you could just spend one day in Harry's shoes. Then you'd see how amazing that world really is.

Eric says: Yea, that'd be fun. While we're at it, why not all seven fucking years.

Jessica says: Even better! And spare me your sarcasm. You know I can't stand that.

Eric says: Whatever. I'm off to bed now. Cya tomorrow at school.

Jessica says: oh ok. Hey, maybe you'll dream about Harry Potter xD.

Eric says: Awesome. Bye.

Eric signed off and got himself into bed. He really didn't understand why Harry Potter was as popular as it was. It wasn't anything special. They were children's books, for god's sake! If he hadn't liked Jessica so much, he would never have been persuaded to read them. He never lied about how much he disliked the books, but it had helped him to get to know her better, still.

But it didn't matter. He'd read through them, and now he didn't have to deal with any of that ridiculous stuff anymore. He was tired, and was he felt he was slowly sinking away. Hopefully he'd dream about Jessica again…

He and Jessica where lying in his bed. He couldn't remember how he'd managed to get her into his bed, but damnit, he really didn't care at this point. They were kissing like their lives depended on it, and his hands tried to feel as much of her body as possible. He had just removed her bra when someone burst through the door into his room.

'WHAT THE HELL,' Eric shouted, and in a reflex he turned around to see who had just ruined the best moment of his life. It was Harry Potter.

'Ohhh no no no no,' Eric stammered, while he grabbed his sheets to make sure he and Jessica were properly covered. 'Not you, not now. Get the FUCK out of here!'

'I'm sorry Eric, ' Harry started, 'but I need to talk to you.'

'I don't. CARE.' Eric countered. He was about to move to punch Harry Potter in the face, but it was then that he noticed.

'WHAT THE.. WHERE IS JESSICA?' Enraged, Eric's vision quickly shifted from his bed, to his desk, to his window, and finally to Harry Potter. 'You!', he said.

But before he could do anything, Harry Potter had taken out his wand. Thin strands that looked like molten glass shot from the tip of his wand, quickly grabbing hold of Eric's limbs, who in reaction, screamed in blind rage.

Harry Potter said nothing as Eric continued to rage and fight against the transparent strands. After 5 minutes, Eric was exhausted and fell backwards onto his bed, still held firmly.

'Now tell me, Eric,' Harry Potter began,' why do you hate me so much, apart from the fact that I just walked in on you shagging like there's no tomorrow?'

Eric still had no idea why all of this was happening, but wouldn't let this opportunity to give Harry Potter a piece of his mind slip.

'I hate you lot because you're not realistic,' he ranted. 'You're way too smart and witty for your age, and way too brave and noble. Your actions are just not what a REAL, NORMAL person would do.'

Harry looked at Eric with a certain arrogance, as if he had known what Eric would say beforehand.

'Listen Eric. This is a dream. You should have known that from the moment you found yourself in bed with Jessica, but I guess you were too eager to believe otherwise. And since you find my course of action during those years so unrealistic, I'm offering you the opportunity to do it your way.'

Eric looked stunned. 'A drea.. a dream? What do y'mean, my way?'

'When you wake up from this dream, you will find yourself in my eleven year old body, on the day I got my Hogwarts letter. You will have all my memories, but from that moment on, you will be in charge. You can do whatever you want from that point on. You won't wake up until you die in this dream.'

'Yea right. How is that even possible?', Eric said. The skepticism in his voice was almost touchable.

'I'm a wizard'

'Oh, that's right. My bad.' Eric didn't believe a word of it. Or atleast most of it. Harry Potter was right about one thing. This had to be a dream, because, well, fucking HARRY POTTER was standing in his room, right? So rather than doubting him, Eric did what he does best: just going with it.

'Ok fine,' Eric admitted, 'but as soon as I wake up in that cupboard of yours, I'll just commit suicide and wake up.'

'I don't think you will, actually, ' Harry countered.

'Huh?'

'You won't know it's a dream. It will feel like reality to you, no matter how weird it gets. Wizards, dragons, goblins. Shit, it will all be real to you, no matter how much you'll freak out at first. '

'How could I be so silly, of course I won't know I'm dreaming ,' Eric said, with that same sarcastic voice, obviously trying to piss Harry off. But the grin Harry had had on his face only got wider. 'I hope you enjoy the ride, ' he said. And with a flick of his wand, Eric fell asleep.

Later that morning, Harry Potter woke up in his cupboard as usual.

* * *

Well, this is the first chapter, serving mainly as an introduction to the actual story. Also this is not only my first fanfic EVER, but also my first attempt at a real story ever. So feedback is obviously very much appreciated! Thanks.


	2. Chapter 2: Rebellion

Thanks for the reviews! Yes, I know Eric is kind of an idiot. I hope that's what will make this fanfic different. I'll try to keep down on the swearing, but sometimes I think it's a bit necessary.

Chapter 2

Harry Potter sat upright in his cupboard, with a very weird feeling. He looked from side to side, upwards, and behind him. This was his cupboard alright, no question about it. It had been his room for almost eleven years. But… why? Why had he allowed himself to be locked up in this surrogate of a room? He must have been delusional. He had no idea why it had never occurred to him never to protest against it, or why he suddenly felt so strongly about this. Fact of the matter was, it was ridiculous, and it was about time he spoke up about it.

He got himself clothed, and walked to the kitchen, completely ignoring the Dursleys that where sitting at the table. 'There you are,' said Vernon Dursley, with an obvious tone of dislike added to his voice. 'Make me some scrambled egg'. It was silent for a moment, and then he heard Harry laugh. He looked up, angry and confused at the same time. 'I'm sorry Vernon', Harry started, 'but if you want food, you're gonna have to do it yourself. Because I'm done with that,' after which Harry turned around to grab cornflakes. Had he stayed to watch Mr. Dursley react, he would have seen a dumbfounded man that didn't seem to know how to react. Just as Harry had grabbed a bowl, though, mr. Dursley seemed to have decided how to react. 'You will do as I say', Mr. Durlsey began in an overly friendly yet authoritative voice, 'Or I will lock you in your cupboard for the rest of your life.

'Yea, that's another thing I wanted to talk about, sorta. I think I'm entitled to a _normal_ room. You know, like _normal_ kids?' Mr. Dursley seemed to explode at this point. He got up, and was marching towards Harry, apparently determined to force him to start on his scrambled eggs, and to make sure Harry knew he had no right to ask for something as outlandish as a _normal _ room. Harry, being much faster, of course, had started running the moment Mr. Dursley got up from his seat. Harry sprinted into the hallway, towards the stairs. Mail had arrived, another thing they wouldn't be using him for anymore, he thought as he ran up the stairs. Harry locked himself in in Dudley's second room. Mere seconds later, Mr. Dursley had caught up with him, slamming on the locked door. 'Open it! Open the door right now!'

'Suck on it!' Harry shouted, 'This is my room now.' Mr. Dursley continued to shout threats and demands for twenty minutes, until he finally gave up, and descended the stairs. Harry could faintly hear him mutter '..take off the hinges'. Harry expected him to come back any minute, but Mr. Dursley didn't come back to get rid of the door. Was mr Dursley going to wait until Harry's attention had wavered, or had he found something more interesting to do? Two hours later, though, someone knocked on the door. 'Harry', Mr. Dudley's voice said, 'You can have this room. Move Dudley's stuff to the shed, and move your own stuff to this room.' Harry hesitated for a moment, but Mr. Dursley didn't sound like he was tricking him. In fact, it sounded like Mr. Dursley was doing this entirely against his own will. Still cautious, Harry opened the door. But Mr. Dursley had already gone downstairs again, clearly not interested in getting face to face with Harry at this point. He took that to mean Mr. Dursley meant it, and within 15 minutes, Harry was done. He knew the Dursleys would come to their senses. He had stood up for himself, like he should have done all the previous years, and it had paid off. He went downstairs to grab a bite, and miraculously, the Dursley's didn't say anything as he grabbed some food from the kitchen. 'I should have done this year's ago', he thought to himself happily.

The next morning, however, he noticed he couldn't open his bedroom door. It was locked – from the outside! 'What the..,' Harry murmured to himself, as he kept opening the door. But it was impossible. 'Those bastards. I'll just climb to through the window, and call Child Protective Service. I have to get out of here. But what he then saw, filled him with shock, disbelief and rage. BARS. There were now bars in front of his window. What was this madness? Harry ran back to the door, slamming in on it, while screaming 'WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM? GET ME OUT OF HERE!' But there was no response.

'This is not real. This can't be real,' Harry argued with himself. But panic also entered into his mind; how long where they going to ignore him, and deprive him of food and use of the toilet? Would they just let him starve to death? Was that his punishment for his sudden rebellion? Harry saw or heard no one that day, and spent most of the time looking through his barred window. Because there sure were a lot of owls showing up. Harry had no idea what that was all about, but figured it wasn't likely that he'd ever find out.

Not having done a lot that day, except wondering about owls, Harry slept lightly that night, and he woke up when the sound of a motorcycle protruded his bedroom. He thought nothing of it, until the noise stopped very abruptly. It had stopped here, almost at midnight. Harry, still a bit sleepy, got out of bed to look through his window. It was a motorcycle all right, but the man that was riding it, looked nothing like a normal man. He was huge, with a long trench coat, and lots of, lots of hair. He couldn't make out much more because of the dim streetlights, but the enormous man had, undoubtedly, gotten of his motorcycle, and was walking towards the front door. The giant man took a glimpse at the barred window, and Harry immediately hid himself. 'Who IS that?', Harry asked himself, quite scared. There was a loud knocking on the door, and Harry realized that he was probably the safest in the house at the moment. He was after all, locked up. There was another knock, and then a terribly loud crack. _The man had busted the front door._ Harry was legitimately scared now, and as he heard Mr. Dursley on the corridor, with aunt Petunia right behind him, all he could think was 'what a brave man.' He heard Mr. Dursley shout. His voice was shivering, but he tried to sound authoritative, like he had done at Harry. It didn't work this time either. There was no response, but a fraction of second later, someone was coming up the stairs. And the way it sounded, it wasn't Mr. Dursley, and certainly not Petunia. Harry kept standing by the window, frozen, unable to move. He anticipated it, but was nevertheless scared shitless when the man began slamming on his door, not even bothering to try and open the lock. After a few more hits, the hinges ripped from the wood, and the door fell on the floor with a loud bang.

And now he finally got a good look at the man. He looked even larger than he had appeared outside. He barely fit in through the door way, and even know, standing in Harry's room, he was bent slightly. His trench coat was looked very worn, with lots of patches, and even more pockets. The man's face was covered with black, savage looking hair. His face looked angry, but something in the guy's eyes seemed to remind Harry of worry. Had he come to free Harry?.

Still pressed against his window, he managed blur out some words. 'Wh..who.. are.. are you?'

But the giant didn't answer his question. 'Wha did they do ter you?', he asked instead. Harry let out a massive sigh. He was still scared, but it appeared this man had come to save Harry. Someone must have seen the barred window and called.. well, who? He doubted Child Protective Services employed blokes like him.

'They locked me up!' Harry screamed. 'They fucking locked me, with no food or anything!'

'That's all they did?', the man asked, and Harry heard relief in his voice.

'Uhm, no, but...'

'Phew,' the man sighed, interrupting Harry, 'that's a relief! Come Harry, let's go downstairs. I can barely stand upright here..'

Harry was too shocked to ask, or even realize how the guy knew his name. He just wanted answers, and possibly a way out of this mess. Harry didn't like adventures at all. He self-conscious enough to know he wasn't brave or anything like that. As glad as he was not to be locked up anymore, he would have much preferred it if the guy had come by at, say, noon?

As they walked into the living room, Harry could see the Dursleys sitting on the large couch, shaking with a lot of fear, and perhaps a bit of anger. The enormous man sat himself down on the other couch, taking up all of it. He seemed to wait for Harry to take a seat, but when Harry remained standing, he started talking.

'Harry, these people have been holding information from yeh.' You should have gotten a letter a few days ago, but instead of givin' it to yeh, they locked you up.'

That's when harry remembered the mail he had ignored when I ran up the stairs to claim Dudley's second room for himself. His letter must have been among them. And Mr. Dursley had seen it when he had gone downstairs to get his screwdriver. He looked at Mr. Dursley in disbelief.'

'Why would you do that', he said,' I thought you locked me up because I was standing up for myself, but you let me starve over a fucking letter?'

Mr. Dursley said nothing, but his eyes pierced Harry's and seemed to communicate nothing more else but 'die, Harry, just die right there'.

'Anyways, ' The giant said, 'They completely ignored the other letters I sent by owl, so I figured I'd better come down here, me self, and get this over with.'

'The owls,' Harry thought,' They'd come for him. But wait..'

'Owls? Why would you sent letters by owl? And what's your name anyway?' Harry asked. His fright had been replaced with curiosity, though he was still cautious.

'Name's Hagrid. Sorry I hadn't introduced me selves. And owls are the way we sent mail. Us wizards that is.'

'Wait, what?'

'You're a wizard, Harry.'

That's chapter two! At first I didn't want to have Harry picked up by Hagrid, but I realized I really needed a mr exposition to do what I want to do. Feedback appreciated! I hope I can get some more plotlines started in the next chapter(s), and the chapters should be getting longer from here. English isn't my native language, so I hope you can forgive me for having Hagrid talk more normal. This is a great exercise for me though.


	3. Chapter 3: Doubt

Quick question: all my markup seems to dissappear after I publish a chapter. Thing like tabs and italics don't show up. Does anyone know what I can do about that?

Chapter 3

'A wiza –,' Harry stammered. He was confused, then disappointed. 'Right, a wizard. Ofcourse. That makes sense.' Hagrid didn't notice the sarcasm. Maybe he expected Harry to immediately believe him, or maybe he just wasn't that good at noticing such things. Still, he seemed be a lot nicer than any of the Dursley's, so he decided to just do what he did best: go along with it.

'That explains all those weird things that happened! I must've made those happen!' Hagrid smiled, and gave an confirming nod. Harry _had _made strange things happen. Not too long ago he'd set a snake on Dudley. Back then, he hadn't really thought about that so much, but now, it seemed awfully strange. Still, of course it wasn't magic. Something else must have happened, though he had no idea what.

'Oh, almost forgot!' said Hagrid, as he suddenly remembered something. He put one hand in his immense, weathered coat, obviously going through the many pockets that were inside. He took out a letter. It must have been the same one he that Mr. Dursley had kept from him. Harry took it, opened it, and read:

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY_

Harry couldn't suppress a small grin when he read that. This Hagrid guy had put a lot of effort into this, he thought as he read the rest of the letter. 'Guess I'll just go with it, ' was his final thought before he spoke to Hagrid again. 'I'd better send them an owl to let them know I'm coming then. Magic school. Awesome.' Hagrid looked very happy with Harry's reaction to the letter. 'Don't worry 'bout that, Harry,' Hagrid replied. 'I've got ter owl Dumbledore anyways, I'll let 'm know.' He said with a friendly smile.

Harry was in the kitchen, cooking sausages that Hagrid had had on him. The giant had sent the Dursleys upstairs again, and was now sitting in on the larger couch. Harry had to hand to him. So far, the execution was perfect. He'd even taken a real owl out of his coat, written a letter, and thrown the owl out of the window. But he kept wondering, as he turned the sausages around, when the punch line would come. Soon, someone would walk up to him, to say 'HA, you actually believed you were going to Magic School! Hogwarts? Come on, dude!' Harry would take that risk though, because the sausage _were _ real, and a delicious smell filled his nose as he turned them around in the gravy. Besides, he wasn't locked up anymore, so the joke was really on the Dursley's anyway.

Hagrid and Harry enjoyed the sausages, which tasted as great as they had smelled. Harry had just put the last piece in his mouth, when he heard someone shouting outside.

'This is the Little Whinging Police. Come outside with your hands above your head'

Harry turned around in a reflex, to look out the front window of the living room. There were two police cars outside, with a total of 4 policemen standing behind them.

'Blimey,' Said Hagrid. What in Merlin's name are they doing here?'

'The Dursley's must have called the police,' Harry said, more to himself than to Hagrid.

Hagrid seemed surprised, but not the least bit worried. Was this part of the joke? It seemed a bit exuberant for a prank.

'Grab yer stuff Harry. Guess we'll have ter leave a bit earlier.'

'I've got everything, ' Harry said flatly. He would be back here after the punch line, after all.

'Got yer letter?' Hagrid asked. He was already walking into the hallway. Apparently he was going simply going to face the police. Harry didn't care. He lived here, too. He had nothing to fear of the cops. If anything, they would protect him. Harry put the letter in his pocket. As he walked outside, he heard Hagrid talk to the policemen. '… so we're just gonna go to ter Leaky Cauldron, nothing ter worry 'bout.'

'You are under arrest!'

Hagrid ignored them, and mounted his motorcycle, which had still been parked there. 'Dunno what yer yappin' about, but Harry and I need ter get going', ' He said. The officers seemed taken aback by his immense size, but were nevertheless determined to take him into custody. 'Ye coming, Harry?'

Harry was utterly confused. He already figured out the Dursley's weren't in on this, which meant the cops were not part of the joke. That meant it was probably best not to listen Hagrid at this moment. But the guy seemed so sure of himself, so calm. Harry was curious alright. But he wasn't stupid. 'Uhm, I think I'll just stand here for a moment, ' He answered. Just as he wondered what the police were going to do, and before Hagrid could answer him, the biggest of the four policemen had jumped on Hagrid's back, in a brave attempt to drag him of the motorcycle.

'What the..' Hagrid shouted, still firmly on his motorcycle. He reached for his back, and grabbed the officer, and lying him down on the street. 'Sorry chap, but I'm 'fraid Muggles can't go ter Hogwarts.' He said with a chuckle.

Harry laughed. Whoever this guy was, he was playing it like a champ. The policemen didn't think it was very funny though, for they had grabbed their guns, and where now pointing them at Hagrid.

'Get off your vehicle, NOW!' one of them shouted. Harry watched on as he saw Hagrid grab an umbrella from his coat. The officers had taken a step back, still aiming at Hagrid, but for some reason, they didn't shoot. Hagrid sat with his umbrella in his hand for a few seconds, but then murmured 'better not', then put it back in his coat. The policemen looked as confused as Harry himself was sure he was looking. Hagrid, on the other hand, seemed completely oblivious to that, and he then turned around to Harry.

'Yer coming or what?'

The more Harry thought about it, the more he realized it probably wasn't a good idea play along anymore. Hagrid seemed like a straight lunatic. Whatever the joke was, the police didn't think it was very funny, and Harry didn't feel comfortable with any of this anymore.

'No,' said Harry. 'I'm not feeling this anymore. I don't know what you're up to, but this whole thing is freaking me out.' The cops where still watching, still aiming at Hagrid, and still looking like they didn't understand a damn thing of it.

'Yer.. Yer don't wanna go?' Hagrid said, confused. 'Yer don't wanna go ter Hogwarts, like yer parents?'

At this point, it simply started to irritate Harry. It was almost as if the guy believed it himself. He probably thought Hogwarts was a real thing. Going with Hagrid seemed downright dangerous to him now.

'Nah, I think I'll be fine. You go along. Thanks though. Be sure to send me an owl when you get there.'

Hagrid looked at Harry for a few seconds, looking for something to say. But the words didn't come. With a hurt and guilty look on his face, he started his motorcycle. The cops were shouting, but Hagrid didn't seem to notice. He opened the throttle, and as he accelerated, the motorcycle flew in the air, like an aircraft, leaving Harry and the policemen dumbfounded.

Harry sat in his room. He was so incredibly confused. Today had been the weirdest day in his life. Weirder by far than any of the days he had made those strange things happen. The days he did.. magic? Could Hagrid have been speaking the truth after all? He knew his eyes hadn't deceived him this time. The giant man really had flown away on a motorcycle. He pulled the letter from his pocket. Hogwarts. The owls. Harry was skeptical alright, but for it seemed the only way any of this could be explained was… magic. And the moment he might have started to believe Hagrid, was also the moment he lost any hope of actually finding out. Because Hagrid was gone. He had looked hurt and guilty. And his parents? What did Hagrid say about his parents? Harry wanted answers. But he only had a useless letter. Maybe it was better to just forget about it.

A few days passed, and Harry's birthday was coming up. He didn't expect much of it, of course, especially after what had happened. He _had_ taken the effort to try and talk with the Dursley's. He had said that he didn't know what the hell had happened, and that he didn't care. He had also made a point of not been enslaved the way he had been before. Surprisingly, the Dursley's had said nothing at that. This would be a good thing, seeing as they could have protested at that. For some reason, they seemed quite relieved that Harry dropped the whole 'magical giant' thing so easy, so he guessed they were cutting him some slack.

Harry had a ritual of always staying awake the night before his eleventh birthday. Not that he'd expected anything to happen, but it was kind of the only thing he could do to make it a bit special.

When his watch struck 12 however, something happened. There was a small crack, as if someone had stepped on a twig, and a letter fell from the top of his ceiling, seemingly out of nowhere. Harry, who was caught of guard by the sudden noise, watched as the letter slowly fell towards the floor, and landed smoothly, almost like a paper plane. It was made from the same paper as his other letter. He was scared for a moment. Did he dare to pick it up? Who knows what would happen. Well, probably nothing, he thought to himself. Slowly, cautiously, he got off of his bed, and even more cautiously picked up the letter, as if it could explode at any moment.

_ To Mr H. Potter_

It said nothing more. And it appeared to be a normal letter. He tore it open, and read it.

_ Dear Mr Potter_

_ It has come to my attention that you have been visited by Mr R. Hagrid, and while he has given you the necessary information, you chose not to trust and come along with him._

_ It was, of course, perfectly alright for you to make that decision, however I must urge you to_

_ reconsider. It would be a waste for a wizard with your potential not to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

_ If you still wish to not indulge yourself in our fascinating world, you can ignore this letter, and you shall never be bothered again._

_ If you, however, wish to admit to your curiosity, it would be a good idea to take your Hogwarts Letter, and walk out on the street at exactly 1 P.M. for Hagrid will be there to pick you up._

_ Yours sincerely,_

_ Albus Dumbledore_

The moment he finished reading, the letter made a loud crack. Harry pulled away his hands in reflex, and dropped the letter. But when he looked at the ground, he saw no paper. Where the letter should have been lying, was now a cupcake. Harry picked it up, and read what was written on top, in tiny fondant lettering.

Happy Birthday

Harry looked at the cupcake. He saw the cupcake, felt it in his hand. It was still warm, as if it had just come out of the oven. But Harry's brain seemed to refuse to process it. 'cupcake.. letter.. Hagrid..Hogwarts' The cupcake must be real. He was tempted, and took a small bite. It was delicious. And obviously real. So the letter must have been aswell. This meant that in a bit less than an hour, Hagrid would probably be waiting for him out on the street, also. He put the rest of the cupcake in his mouth. Damn that tasted good. Those wizards sure knew how to make cupcakes. Hell, he'd go with Hagrid just for a chance at more of those cupcakes, and if he was offered a chance to learn magic along the way, that would be nice too.

One hour. He didn't need that hour to decide what he'd do. Instead he made sure he had his Hogwarts Letter, and decided to write a note to leave for the Dursley's. They would undoubtedly be happy that Harry had disappeared, but Harry decided it was probably better to let them know where he'd gone anyway. He snuck downstairs to stick it to the fridge with a magnet, took some cookies from the food cabinet, and made his way back to his room. Now he just had to wait.

At ten to one, Harry got off of his bed. He was too filled with nerves. 'I'll just wait outside for him,' he thought. 'Wouldn't want to miss him anyway'. He was about to open the door, when someone beat him to it.

Vernon Dursley was standing in the door opening, with Harry's note in his hand, cookie crumbles in his moustache and his face filled with rage.


	4. Chapter 4: Thirst

Chapter 4

Harry stumbled backwards in shock. 'I..I,' Harry stammered, but he couldn't think of anything to say that would calm Mr. Dursley down. 'What did I tell you?' Mr. Dursley began, his voice shaking with pure rage. He looked as if he could explode at any second. 'I told you this kind of thing will NOT be tolerated in this house. How dare you. How FUCKING dare you?' As he said this, he was slowly walking forward, towards Harry, who was already pressed against his barred window. Harry had no idea what Mr. Dursley would do to him, but he doubted he would be able to simply walk out to the street in 10 minutes. 'I knew it. I knew the moment you found out about it, that you couldn't leave it alone. ' Mr. Dursley's face was now only a few centimeters from Harry's, but the latter didn't dare to move. And the time was ticking away. 'You think you're so special, ' he continued, 'Oh, Vernon wouldn't care, I'll just do whatever the hell I want!' Harry felt he had to say something, do something. 'I'm.. I'm sorr-' But Mr. Dursley interrupted him. 'Yea I bet you're sorry. Those are MY specially Imported Chocolate Chip Cookies! Someone keeps stealing them, and I never knew for sure who. But the note? Couldn't be more obvous. You THIEF!'

He grabbed Harry's arm, and dragged him out of the room. Harry was too scared to do something. What was Mr. Dursley going to do? As he was dragged down the stairs, Harry feared that he would be locked in the cupboard again, for God knows how long. However, Mr. Dursley opened the front door, dragged him outside, and threw him on to the street. 'When that Hagrid guy comes, you leave with him. I don't care what you do, but if I ever see you near this place again, I'll kill you!' Harry looked at Mr. Dursley's face. He looked completely insane, and Harry was sure that he meant every single word of it. Mr. Dursley stood there for a few second, saying nothing. Obviously he was looking for ways to get his point across even more clearly. Then, without warning, he turned around and marched back into the house, slamming the door closed behind him. And Harry was lying on the street, still looking at the door, frozen, in shock.

It wasn't until he heard the sound of a motorcycle that he started to move again. He quickly got up on his feet, and looked around. He saw nothing. Then he looked up, and saw a single spot of light approaching him. He quickly got himself on the sidewalk, rather than the middle of the street, where he'd probably be squashed by Hagrid's motorcycle. This time Harry was able to get a better look at it, and he was as amazed as before as he watched the motorcycle touch down on the street as gently as a bird. Hagrid drove past Harry, decelerated, made a turn at the end of the road, and stopped right next to Harry.

'Changed yer mind, eh?' Hagrid said. Harry found it difficult to interpret Hagrid's tone of voice. He noticed Hagrid tried to sound as happy as he had been the first time he'd come to pick up Harry, but there was also something accusing in it. Harry decided to just speak out. 'Yea well, you were freaking me out pretty badly. With the cops and everything.'

'True, that bit didn't go so well,' Hagrid admitted. 'Let's jus' forget 'bout that and make a fresh start, eh? Yer got all yer stuff? And the Hogwarts letter?'

'Yea, I've got everything I need,' Harry said as he moved to sit behind Hagrid on the passenger seat.

'Hold on tight,' Hagrid said, but Harry wasn't paying attention. Even the fact that they were lifting off into the air on a motorcycle couldn't help him forget the problem that he would have to face eventually.

He had been kicked out of the house. He had taken his final chance at a different future, but would it be worth it? Magic school sounded pretty sweet, but he hadn't really seen any of it, had he? Was it wise to just give up on his life of certainty, miserable as it might be, because he'd seen a flying motorcycle and a cupcake? Whatever would have been best, didn't matter now, though. He'd chosen a route, and he'd have to deal with it. Or as he'd like to put it: just go with it.

The trip seemed to last forever. Harry had no sense of time or movement while they were that high in the air, and was desperately trying not to fall asleep. Harry was taken by surprise when they suddenly started to descend. Tightening his grip on Hagrid's coat, he dared to look down for a second; They were above London, for the millions of lights he saw couldn't belong to any other city. As they descended more and more, the lights started to take shape. Many were windows of houses, others were streetlights, and in the distance, Harry could make out some tall buildings. But beautiful as London might be at night, Harry was sure there was no Magic School here, as he would surely have known about it if that were the case. Hagrid landed in a nondescript street. Nothing was noteworthy about it, but apparently, this was Magic School, because Hagrid told Harry to get off, so he could park the motorcycle. 'So this is it?' Harry asked in a disbelieving voice. For a moment, Harry felt scared again. Here he was, with some guy, in some street. Running away wouldn't do much good, where would he-

'Hey, yer coming?'

Harry looked up. He'd been so lost in thought that he hadn't paid attention to Hagrid, who was now standing in front of the entrance of the most unnoteworthy building in the entire street. He really didn't feel like going in there. Then he remembered the letter. And the cupcake. The cupcake had been real, and he didn't really have an alternative right now, did he? He followed Hagrid inside, in what had to be the stupidest decision in his life.

They were in a bar. Harry noticed a clock on the wall. It was 3 A.M. He was way too nervous to let the tiredness get to him though. Hagrid approached the barman, who looked as if he had been waiting.

'That's him then?' The barman said. 'Yea, that's him,' Hagrid replied. 'Thanks fer waiting, Thom. Yer a real life saver.'

'Eh, it's nothing. I don't mind helping Dumbledore out. I take it Mr. Potter is quite tired, though. Shall I show him to his room?'

'Oh ye,' Hagrid answered. He then turned to Harry. 'Listen Harry, you get yer rest. I'll pick you up tomorrow so we can get yer schoolstuff.' The barman had come to shake Harry's hand. 'Oh, and this is Thom here, owner of the Leaky Cauldron, ' he added, ' Now, I've really got to go, but I'll see yer tomorrow, ye? Take care, Harry.'

Harry would have liked some more information on where he was exactly, but Hagrid had already walked towards the door, and then he was gone. Harry felt very uncomfortable, being left alone with a man he didn't know. 'Come, Mr Potter, I'll show you your room, ' and he walked up the stairs. Harry followed, silently. 'Is this safe? Where is Magic School? Where are the cupcakes?' Thoughts kept crossing his mind, but a few minutes later, he was in a bed that was bigger, softer and warmer than he'd ever had. It made him feel safe. He fell asleep.

* * *

He woke up after what felt like an instant, but wasn't in the same room anymore. He felt different, his room was different. And then he realized it. This was his own room. He was Eric again. He had woken up! He looked around in disbelief. What the hell had he just been dreaming? So vivid, so full of detail. Nothing like normal dream, and he could remember every single thing, without effort. Then is bedroom door opened, and Harry Potter stepped in.

'Wow, wait,' Eric said, shocked and disoriented. 'I'm still dreaming?' He had said this purely to himself, but Harry Potter took the liberty to answer his question.

'Yes, ofcourse,' he began, his voice saturated with that same arrogance he'd had the first time aroudn, as if he possessed every bit of knowledge known to mankind. 'You didn't die, did you? You just went to sleep.' I decided to use that opportunity to give you a small break from your adventure.

'I – You – Wha' Eric tried to form a coherent sentence, but he wasn't able to do it. Harry interrupted his stammering. 'So, what do you think, so far?'

Eric fell silent, and tried to absorb the question. 'I – It was horrible!' he said in an accusing voice. Amidst of all the things he didn't know, all the questions he had, he knew at least one thing for sure: Everything was the fault of the guy in front of him. Harry Potter knew exactly what he was thinking.

'No need to blame me, Eric!' Harry spat triumphantly, 'Everything that happened was because of your actions! And you'll have to admit, you did a lot worse than me.'

'You let the Dursley's enslave you for more than ten years! At least I stood up for myself!' Eric spat back.

'And look were that got you. Bars in front of your window, and they would have let you starve. Attacking isn't always the best approach Eric, tempting as it may be.' Harry countered.

'Still, it was foolish of you to just flat-out trust Hagrid the way you did,' Eric said. 'I wasn't so easily convinced!'

'You think so? All it took was a cupcake. Really doesn't beat the pigs tail Hagrid gave to Dudley.'

'Whatever, ' Eric said, 'I'm done with this.'

Harry grinned. 'You, perhaps. But the Harry Potter sleeping in the Leaky Cauldron isn't quite done yet.' He'd grabbed his wand again.

Eric jumped towards him, but he wasn't fast enough, not by a long shot.

* * *

Thom had woken Harry at 11 A.M. Hagrid would be picking him up in an hour, so he took a long shower, and went downstairs, not really sure what he could do until then. He didn't expect Thom to have made him a brunch, though. As he ate, he looked around. When he arrived here yesterday, the bar had been completely deserted, except for Thom. At this time, however, there were quite a few people talking and having a drink. Harry didn't know what to think of their weird clothing, but then it dawned on him. Were these people.. wizards? Harry realized what stupid logic that was, but the thought wouldn't leave him. Five minutes past noon, Hagrid arrived, and Harry was very glad to see him. Atleast he 'knew' Hagrid.

'Hiha, Harry, how'd yer sleep?' Hagrid asked. Harry would just have said fine, but something about Hagrid made him reconsider. Hagrid was.. _genuinely _ interested in Harry's wellbeing. It just radiated from him.

'I slept great, Hagrid' Harry answered. And he meant every word of it, though he did have kind of a weird dream. He had been talking to himself. Not in a mirror though. He'd been talking to another Harry, but he hadn't a clue in the world what they'd been talking about. At this moment, however, he had other things on his mind. He wanted to see magic, goshdarnit! And cupcakes. Oh god, cupcakes.

Hagrid seemed just as eager to get down to business.

'Alright, Harry, yer done with eating? First we gots ter go to Gringots, then we'll get all yer Hogwarts stuff!'

'Eh, ok, I guess?' Harry was still looking around the bar. The robes. The weird hats. One guy was wearing a tulban. Was that wizard fashion? Couldn't hurt to ask Hagrid.

'Say Hagrid,' He started,' are all these people in here wizards?'

'What? Yea 'fcourse they're wizards, Harry! What else would they be?' Hagrid answered, as he walked through the bar into the courtyard. Harry followed automatically.

'Hm, let's see here. Oh, right.' Hagrid had taken his umbrella and tapped a few stones on the wall.

Nothing was happening for a moment –'Duh, it's a wall' -, but then a hole appeared, that got bigger and bigger, until the wall had been replaced with an archway that led into a street. A street that left Harry speechless.

'Welcome,'said Hagrid, 'to Diagon Alley.

It was true. It was all true. If the archway hadn't convinced him already, Diagon Alley would have done it anyway.

As Harry followed Hagrid, he couldn't help but feel a little intimidated. This street, this world. It had been here all the time, yet he'd never know about it. What else was there that he didn't know? And as they walked, something unleashed in Harry. The intimidation was replaced with a thirst. He wanted to know everything about this world.

Thought after thought raced trough Harry's mind. Everywhere he looked, he saw things that filled his head with questions ('a wand store? As in, for buying a wand? Oh, god, awesome'), while others answered questions he'd been stuck with for a while ('An owl shop. Mail. Owls. Duh').

He kept walking closely to Hagrid, becoming more and more amazed as they got further, until they stopped in front of a big white building.

'I'm sold,' Harry thought as they were hurling downwards in a cart through an endless tunnel maze. 'If this is what wizard banks are like, I need to go to a wizard themepark.' The goblins upstairs hadn't even shocked him anymore. By the time he'd been halfway through Diagon Alley he decided to just go with it, because it was all too much to process. Goblins run the wizard bank? Sure, why not.

His vault, however, made him think. Not the fact that he was richer than the Mr. Dursley would probably ever be ('All that gold is mine? Sure, that makes sense.'), but the fact that he knew basically nothing about his parents. They'd been rich, and they were wizards, apparently . Fair enough, but what else? He was going to ask Hagrid, but he wasn't coping with the rollercoaster ride that well. And on second thought, why would Hagrid even know his parents? The more he kept thinking about it, the more it started to bother him. Did his parents go to Hogwarts? Maybe he could ask a teacher there.

He stopped thinking about his parents the moment they left Gringotts, because they could finally get down to business. ' Ye got yer Hogwarts Let-' Hagrid began, but Harry was on his way already. He didn't have to look on his list to know what he'd get first. 'I'll see you in a bit, ' Harry said. 'I'm gonna buy a wand first.'

He entered Ollivanders, only to notice someone was already there. A boy of about his age, with a pale and pointed face was standing in the shop. He was alone, and appeared to be waiting. He turned around when Harry entered.

'Hullo, ' said the boy, 'Hogwarts, too?'

'Yea, ' said Harry.

'My parents bought most of my other stuff already. Only need wand now, ' he said. He didn't appear to be very exciting. In fact, he looked almost bored.

'You don't sound very excited about it, ' Harry said honestly.

'Duh, it's just a wand,' the boy countered'. I'd much rather be looking at racing brooms.

'Who wouldn't,' Harry agreed. _Just go with it._

The boy smiled. He was about to say more, but a man had come from the back of the store.

'Mr Malfoy, how about this one?' the man said, handing a wooden stick ('holy crap, it's a wand!') over to the boy, who grabbed it with a annoyed look on his face. A few sparks came out of the tip of the wand, and Mr. Ollivanders didn't look wholly satisfied, but the boy was done with wand shopping.

'That will do,' he said. 'How much?'

'Six Galleons, that one, Mr. Malfoy. Are you sure, though? I ha-' Mr. Ollivander began, but the boy interrupted him.

'I said "That will do",' the boy sneered. 'Just wrap it up or something, so I can get out of here.'

Harry had liked the boy at first, but now he was acting like an arrogant twat.

'Dude, he's just trying to help. No reason to act like you've got an owl up your ass,' he said to the boy. Mr. Ollivanders was quite surprised by this retort, however, not nearly as much as the boy, who had turned around very quickly and was now looking at Harry directly with a very calculating look.

'What's your name?' he said after a few seconds. Harry didn't like the inflection in the boy's voice.

When Hagrid had asked how Harry had slept, he could instantly tell that Hagrid had hoped that Harry had had a good nap. But this boy. He was scanning Harry. Harry didn't like it at all.

'I asked you your name,' the boy demanded.

'Harry Potter. Yours?' He answered. But the boy said nothing. He just stared at Harry. Then, without warning, he grabbed 6 galleons from his pocket, dropped it on the counter, grabbed the wand, and walked out the shop without saying a word. Harry stood confused for a second, then looked at Mr. Ollivander, who said nothing.

'What was that all about?' Harry asked.

That boy,' Mr. Ollivander began, 'is Draco Malfoy. The Malfoys are among the oldest wizarding families that exist, and some claim they used to be supporters of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Whether that is or is not the case, it would be wise not to cross them, Mr. Potter, for they still hold a lot of power in the wizarding world.'

'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?', Harry asked, 'Who is that?'

Mr. Ollivander was silent for a moment before he spoke again. 'Why, it is curious that you, of all people, wouldn't know who he is, but I'm afraid this is not the time to explain. I take it you are here for a wand?'

'Oh, yea. Fine, I guess.'

Harry left the shop quite a bit later. Harry felt like he'd tried almost every wand Mr. Ollivander had. Maybe it was because of that Malfoy boy, but Harry wanted to make sure Mr. Ollivander would be as satisfied as Harry. And in Harry's case that was quite an understatement. The wand he'd eventually picked (Or no, wait. The wand picked the wizard. Fine by Harry), had felt awesome. He could almost feel the magic in him when he held it. Mr. Ollivander had agreed that that was the one, but still had a dubious look on his face. Maybe he just didn't like seeing one of his precious wands leave him. Harry didn't bother to ask. Now that he had his want, he wanted to do go and buy other stuff.

Harry was lying on his bed, back in the leaky cauldron. Today had been the best day of his life. Harry looked at the cage with Hagrid's birthday present. A beautiful, snow white owl. He'd named her Jessica. The name had just popped right into his head, though he had no idea why. Next to the chair was his brand new trunk, that was filled will robes, quills, books and many other things he would need for school. Magic school. Hogwarts. Hagrid had asked if Harry wouldn't rather stay with the Dursley's but Harry had explained that that was flat-out impossible. Hagrid said that he would talk to professor Dumbledore on the matter, and that he'd owl Harry as soon as possible. Harry could stay at the Leaky Cauldron until then. Harry didn't matter staying here until September first, but agreed that he couldn't just life here forever, so he was glad that some action was taken. He'd worry about that later though. Right now, he was terribly exhausted and terribly satisfied.

* * *

Well, thats chapter 4! Please review and give me some feedback! Any feedback is welcome. Is my writing confusing? do you think the in world characters are acting canon? do you like where the story is going so far?

as I write, the overal plot I want to pursue becomes more clear. All i want to say at this point is that the whole dreaming thing isnt just a plot device to have Harry behave differently.

thanks for reading! =)


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